Portugal.

September 2012

Hannah climbs up on deck and slowly pulled down the Spainish courtesy flag and raised the Portuguese flag. We were entering our very first Portuguese port, Leixeos 041 11.077N. 008 42.341 W. Once we had cleared the breakwater, we motored north to the back of the harbour, towards the marina. We dropped anchor just outside the entrance to save cost on a marina berth but we will still be able to dinghy into the Marina, leaving it on the dinghy dock for long periods . There were other yachts anchored and once we were settled, a yacthy rowed over to greet us ( Leo from Belguim) who was a young solo sailor, heading for Brazil. A few cold beers were passed around to celebrate our first time in Portugal.

Being early risers (that's the kids' wanting to go ashore) we found ourselves on yet another bus, heading for the capital of port wine, Porto.Quoted from the Mosty unlikely sailors: " The beautiful tall buildings displayed architecture and culture. Even the pavements were tiled with some co ordination of colour and art, whilst busy shoppers littered the pedestrianised walk ways. Open top buses drove smoothly over the tiled city roads filled with tourists, as gallantry monuments stood tall in the middle of it all. What an amazing city"!

BeRlEnga Island and Peniche

September 2012

Looking back from now to then, it was on this voyage from Leixies to Berlenga island were we caught our very first fish on a trolling rod. Matter of fact, it was 4 rather large bonito which we made St Helenian fish cakes and barbaqued on Peniches' beach with the family off Barnstormer. The cruisers we came into contact with respected us for our fishing ability who sometimes ask for our advice. I must admit, there is a little bit of good old fashioned luck involved.Fish is now a main part of our diet and we catch them on a regular basis. Some taking hours to bring on board, whilst others just a few minutes. Spieces caught ranges from large yellow fin Tuna to acrobatic Marlin . All very tasty and the kids love the whole process from preparing the rod to cleaning the fish in preparation for cooking.

This passage was fast as the Atlantic conditions reached over 20 knots, causing us to leave our cruising friends onboard yacht Courage, in our wake. Berlenga island 039 24.754 N 009 30.364 W was not very big, but seems to hold the morning fog which only lifted just after midday. The daily temperatures did allow us to enter the day with summer wear and so did the water.The monastery with its precarious excess and the orange sandy beaches tucked at the back of the narrow inlets, made the island a lot more interesting. The locals come here on the weekends from the mainland and camped dangerously on the edge of the cliff face. There were chalets for the less enthusiast which always seemed busy and so were the hiking trail that snaked up and around the island. The most amusing encounter was the fishing sign high above sea level and 2 men fishing 60 metres over the shear drop off into the sea below.

PenIche

PenIche lay 8 nautical miles 039 21.11 N 009 22.29 W from Berlenga island, so it was a short morning sail to the sleepy fishing town. As we entered the habour, we noticed that the yacht Courage and yacht Barnstromer which we saw from the AIS were anchored here. Once we had dropped the anchor just behind the 2 yachts, a black RIB steamed across the habour and berthed along our starboard side. The Portuguese authorises are very quick to police their waters. All was in order and we were free to continue our day.As for yacht Courage, she was having halyard and engine problems, a good enough reason for her not to follow us to the island. Like most cruisers, we offered to help and they excepted.That afternoon we were enjoying the fish we had caught over our charcoal BBQ, on the beach inside the habour and a little glass of wine to appreciate the company as the sun set on the day.

Early the next morning after a short schooling lesson, the Hernes' were once again exploring the culture.

The last few ports before heading out into the North ATlantic.

Cacais 038 41.836N 009 24.807 W, Lisbon and Sines were the last few ports we visited in Europe before we headed out to Porto Santo. What I can remember of Cascais/Lisbon was that the architecture didn't change thoughout the west coast of Euorpe, still beautiful and breath taking.It was the large trimarans, with their tall canton mast that were racing off shore that caught my eye. It seems as if there was no wind, yet these powerful yachts gracefully accelerate with a chase boat planing behind.

Quote from: The most unlikely sailors."Outside the marIna walls, around eight 25 metre trimarans with canton masts all leaning towards the lower hull and looking elegant, but powerful, catching the eye of every sailors dream."

Sines, Our final European port.

Sines 037 57.062 N 008 51.99 W was are last European port and the most interesting. Here we met a few of our cruising friends from our past ports, all ready for the passage out into the Atlantic. Our destination Porto Santo, a small island off Madeira. With an average of 500 nautical miles to cover, we need to prevision for at least a week. But that wasn't a problem. A low pressure system hovered over our course, with very strong winds which was the main conversation topic for a week until a small sailing vessel, displaying the Turkish flag, towed in by the authorities and a single man was removed and taken ashore, only to be reunited with his vessel later on. I was the first yachtie to row over to him to seek more information on his situation and was accompanied by another yachtie later on. The young Turkish man had been at sea for 5 month and Sines was his first port, which he was forced into after fisherman reported that he had no navigation lights. He told me he was going up the river Thames to meet friends. When he showed me his navigational aids, which was a road map and compass, that's when I thought, is this man serious! He left the next morning in force 9 conditions in his Leisure 17 with was built in England and head for the Bay of Biscay.As for our little flotilla of 5 yachts, we left three days later dodging under the hurricane whilst it headed north.